Magical Snapshots
by Happier
Summary: The passions of one person can bring even the most unlikely people together. AU
1. Hobbies

Disclaimer: All original aspects of the Harry Potter series do not belong to me. They are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury.

Chapter 1: Hobbies

Hermione Jane Granger slammed the third and final tome on the Goblin Riots of 1650-75 close and slid it across the table to join its mates. Glaring at the offending pile she sat back in her favorite wing backed chair with a huff, allowing her feet to dangle. At 5 ft -1 inches she found that her feet wouldn't touch the ground if she scooted all the way back in the chair. A fact that agitated her for the most part, but that comforted her, even if she refused to admit it. Swinging her feet back and forth she considered her next options for research, determined to have all the facts before she began writing her latest essay for History of Magic class. She was so wrapped up in her academic musings that she never heard that little 'click', or saw a shadowy form retreating from her private corner of the library.

Twenty minutes later it was in this same state that she was found by Ginny, who informed her that Harry and Ron had been attempting to find her for quite some time, but had eventually given up and decided to play exploding snap instead. For some reason unknown to her they preferred games to studying for exams and improving their academic records. Once, Ron had even had the audacity to tell her that as a third year student she did not have the right to begin studying for her O.W.L. exams, let alone pester him to do that same. It was after this incident that Hermione realized that her hobbies were just that, her hobbies. They were not meant for anyone else in the same way that they were meant for her.

______________.

Colin Creevy was not the only student at Hogwarts interested in photography, both magical and muggle. He was, however, the only student who made his passion for pictures public. Some students chose to keep their hobbies secret. And besides, no one would ever believe that some students or rather, one in particular, was interested in meaningless, mindless, borderline muggle things like photography, anyway, right?


	2. Secrets

Chapter 2: Secrets

Draco Malfoy has many secrets. He doesn't like eggplants and he doesn't like tea, but a steaming cup of hot chocolate melts his rumored-to-be-frozen heart like butter. He loves muggle music and he loves photography. That's a big one. He really loves photography. Contrasts in light fascinate him. The way a muggle photo, so perfectly, eternally still, can show movement excites him.

But, Draco's biggest secret is, and always will be, his muse.

"Ron, hurry up, we're going to be late!"

"Relax, Harry, we're fine. Care of Magical Creatures doesn't begin until 9 and it's almost...9:08"

"That's exactly my point"

"But it's Hagrid, he wouldn't care if we were a whole half hour late. In fact, we could still grab something from the kitchens if you want. I could still eat."

"Ron, you've already had your breakfast. You should have been already been prepared to leave for class before going to breakfast, and that was none of us would have to be late for class at all. It was really rather inconsiderate of you, when you think about it. Both Harry and I were all set for class mere seconds after breakfast, and now you've gone and made us both late."

"Well, if you had helped me answer that last question about what flobberworms eat we could have left before."

"I'm not going to help you cheat on your homework, Ronald. I don't believe in such a thing. And you're only hurting yourself, you know. You should have looked up the dietary habits of flobberworms days ago, when you were pretending to die of boredom in the common room."

"She's got you there, mate."

"You're one to talk, you could have helped me out too, instead of making me search through the whole blasted chapter for the one paragraph that talks about what flobberworms eat."

"But, like Hermione said, you need to learn this all on your own Ron. It's all part of the learning process."

"I'll show you the learning process," Ron lunged toward Harry, fully prepared to get a good swing or two at him, while Harry moved so as to put Hermione in between himself and Ron, laughing the whole time.

"Stop it, we're fifteen minutes late to class as it is! We've got to get there before we're any later," Hermione tried desperately to break through the haze of testosterone as Harry and Ron mock sparred around her, but her sensible words were no match for their juvenile fun.

Finally, another five minutes later the rough-housing had stopped and the trio made their way to class, all a little flushed. Harry and Ron both had some new bruises on their arms, but looked truly happy and carefree. Hermione, on the other hand, was flushed out of anger. The boys could be such juvenile idiots sometimes. As Ron and Harry spouted off something to Hagrid, who accepted it with a big grin and a wink, Hermione threw herself down onto a log with a huff in indignation. She sat there musing about there behavior just long enough to miss the nearly-silent 'click', before turning around with a brilliant smile to face Hagrid and answer the question he had only just begun to ask.


	3. Naps

Chapter 3: Naps

"Ron, really, you should try to pay attention to Professor Binns in class. Some of what he says is truly fascinating, and I think it would really be good for you to pay attention, and while I know that you might not want to, but," Hermione and Ron walked side by side on their way out of class. Harry had rushed ahead, hoping to send a letter before they would all eat lunch together.

"Stop. Just stop, I can't take it anymore! You're completely out of you mind! Why are you always attacking me?"

"Ronald, I'm not trying to attack you, I'm just trying to motivate you, to make you understand where I am coming from, and how you could benefit from using your ears!"

"I do use my ears! And right now they're telling me that you are attacking me! So I'm not perfect, so I don't always listen in class, and I don't start studying for exams years in advance, I'm normal! I'm human! I'm not some super-human studying freak!" Hermione spun away from Ron and raced off in the opposite direction. Ron marched on to eat. Fighting with Hermione always made him hungry.

Hermione, on the other hand, raced towards her favorite chair in the back of the library, barely able to see it all through her tears. There she curled herself into a ball and wallowed in her own misery until she fell asleep. Far away in her dreamland, she didn't hear the little 'click'.

* * *

Draco polished off his newest lens quickly, hoping he could still raise the camera and get the shot before she moved. He knew Hermione had a tendency to shift in her sleep, and there was one stray curl the fell right down in front of her face. So misplaced, and so perfect. He knew that it would make of break this next picture, and he really hoped it would be a good one. Raising the camera, he zoomed in until it was just about perfect and 'click'. She shifted in her sleep less than a second after his favorite sound in the world.

Slipping back into the shadows of the library, Draco returned to his room in a way that could only be called scurrying. He didn't pay attention to anyone or anything as he returned to his dormitory and wrapped the curtains around his bed closed. Reaching under his bead, but still remaining covered by the curtain, he pulled out a small trunk and set it down in front of him.

It was really more of a box. Designed exactly like one belonging to a man named Alastor Moody, someone Draco had never even met before, but who he had heard his father complaining about on more than one occasion. Draco's trunk, however, appeared to be just large enough to hold six textbooks, two piles of three, and had only three locks across the front.

When the first lock was unlocked, one found every one of Draco's old textbooks from years past, as well as various extra school supplies: parchment, ink, eagle feather quills, and everything else he could possibly think to need for his studies.

When the second lock was unlocked, Draco could lay eyes on his prized equipment. Four cameras lay on green silk, with an indent for the camera sitting beside him. Underneath the row of cameras was another row, this time of various types of lenses. Three of the cameras were more or less muggle; one that had been enchanted to take magical photographs, and two that took muggle photographs. His favorite camera of all was an Olympus OM-1 from 1972. It was his first muggle camera. He had bought on a whim two summers ago. Enchanted to work within the castle, he loved it more than practically everything he owned. The other two were clearly magical. One was bright teal and would release clouds of purple smoke after each use, and the other was flaming red the let off shimmering yellow dust, and squawked like a parrot. Draco's newest edition, something called a "digital camera" sat next to him on the bed.

However, before unlocking compartment two, Draco unlocked the third compartment, the one that led to a very, very small studio, where Draco could develop his pictures however he wished. A ladder was attached to the side of the room so that Draco could enter and exit the trunk easily. It magically grew to be just the right size for him to slip inside and scramble down the ladder, the cord of the digital camera held securely by his teeth.

Once inside his private studio, Draco walked right over to the desk he had set up in the corner. On one side of the desk was a cauldron filled with the potion used to make muggle photographs magical with a charm on in to keep it fresh and usable for up to six months, however, he was sure he would need to brew a new batch in two to three weeks. The drawer under the cauldron held all of the ingredients for this potion. On the other side of the desk was a contraption called a "digital photo printer" that he had gotten off the black market along with his "digital camera". Not only did it work in Hogwarts, but It would print on any size paper with incredible quality.

The other side of the little studio was dominated by a curtained off area that had become Draco's darkroom. Back there was where the true magic happened, whether Draco was using magical or muggle techniques to develop his photographs. The walls of his little chamber of secrets were covered with some of his best work. Both color and black and white photographs of all shapes and sizes covered the walls. Happy pictures, sad pictures, beautiful and grotesque pictures, he figured variety was key to his creative development in his secret space.

Connecting the little camera to the printer-thingy was fairly easy, and Draco tapped in his specifications on the glowing screen. Sometimes the muggle things he used really made him laugh. He wanted to print five of his favorites off the camera, so he figured he'd get out his photo album. Well, it wasn't exactly his photo album; so much as it was _her_ photo album.

Opening it, Draco looked back at the pictures he had taken of her over the last year. Some moved, but most didn't. It was so much better to watch the real thing than to watch a photograph. Once the first photograph had printed Draco added it to the back of the album. He did the same with the other two of her he had printed. After gently placing the album back into the drawer, he walked over to the wall and found just enough space for the other two photographs. Muttering a simple sticking charm he stepped back to admire his latest work. He added a stunning black and white of a group of first years having a snowball fight, and colorful and playful picture of the Owelry to his collection, thanking the muggles for their small and discreet invention.

Climbing out of his precious room, Draco closed and relocked the box, and tucked it safely under his bed between his school trunk and the wall. Feeling quite pleased with himself he settled in for an afternoon nap before dinner.


End file.
